By Silvio Cascione | BRASILIA BRASILIA Brazil's economy shrank for a sixth straight quarter between April and June, but investments grew for the first time since 2013 and fueled hopes of a modest recovery following the likely ousting of President Dilma Rousseff on Wednesday. Gross domestic product fell 0.6 percent in the second quarter compared with the first, statistics agency IBGE said on Wednesday, slightly more than the 0.5 percent drop expected by economists in a Reuters poll. Investments rose 0.4 percent though, in the first increase after 10 straight quarters of contraction. Brazil's industrial output also hit an inflection…... [read more]

Brazil's state-run oil company, Petrobras has taken a $2bn (£1.3bn) charge for costs related to corruption. The company has published accounts for last year showing an overall loss of $7.2bn. The company's results also included an impairment charge of $14.8bn reflecting the decreased value of its assets. Petrobras has been embroiled in a massive corruption scandal in which it is alleged that bribes were paid for lucrative contracts with the firm. The scandal has hurt Petrobras and damaged President Dilma Rousseff's government. Political fallout In March hundreds of thousands of Brazilians protested against President Rousseff, who chaired the board of…... [read more]

Brazil's economy fell into contraction in the third quarter, with output shrinking by more than analysts had forecast, according to official state figures. The Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatistica (IBGE) said that Brazil's economy shrank by 0.5% in the quarter, compared to the previous one. Analysts had expected Brazil's economy to shrink by just 0.2%. However, compared with the same quarter last year, the economy grew 2.2%, The drop was mainly due to the performance of its agricultural industry, which shrank 3.5% between July and September compared with the previous three months. The fall came after a strong second…... [read more]

The migrant crisis has fuelled a backlash against the political establishment, but the wave of discontent also taps into long-standing fears about globalisation and a dilution of national identity. How is this right-wing backlash reshaping Europe's political landscape? Austria In recent years the far-right Freedom Party (FPOe) has shaken up the centrist consensus politics that dominated Austria for decades after World War Two. But in April 2016 it went further, pushing both main parties out of the running for the presidency. Image copyright EPA Image caption Norbert Hofer won most support outside the main cities and among male voters The…... [read more]

Amidst all the heat of the presidential debate on Sunday night, hackers surfaced for a brief moment. The two candidates clashed over a claim that hackers tied to the Russian state were trying to influence the election. Two days earlier, on Friday, the US director of national intelligence had pointed the finger at the highest levels of the Russian state for intrusions. Critics of Russia have argued that any role would be part of a growing trend of not just stealing information but also weaponising it. Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump took part in…... [read more]

Media captionTrump v Clinton: What the Russian papers sayDonald Trump has called the American media "disgusting", "corrupt", "biased" and "dishonest". If he could read Russian, I suspect he'd appreciate the way the media here have been covering the US election. Pro-Kremlin newspapers have waxed lyrical about Donald and, at times, torn Hillary to shreds. "I officially declare that Clinton is a cursed witch," wrote Russian MP Vitaly Milonov recently in the popular tabloid Komsomolskaya Pravda. "That's why even a funny guy like Trump looks more reasonable in comparison." The Russian press has portrayed Clinton as a raving Russophobe. "Russia is…... [read more]

Media captionFord boss Mark Fields says its "working assumption" is that Apple is building a car.Ford is in the technology business. Yes, it makes cars but that is now only part of its operations. The company's chief executive has revealed that it's working on the assumption that its major rivals in the future may not be General Motors or Chrysler. But Google and Apple. And that the latter is probably building a car. "Our working assumption is that they are," Mark Fields told me. "And that provides us with the right motivation to make sure we stay very focused not…... [read more]

Google's self-driving car chief has urged lawmakers to ensure the US sets consistent laws for the technology. Chris Urmson told a Senate hearing that the US Transport Secretary should be given authority over the matter rather than leaving it to individual states. He also reiterated his company's view that it would be safer if passengers were not able to override a vehicle's autonomous systems. That contrasts with the view of California's regulator. The state's Department of Motor Vehicles published draft rules in December that said a trained human must still be able to take control. Mr Urmson noted that 23…... [read more]

Image copyright Getty Images Green Party candidate Jill Stein is attempting to engineer a recount of presidential ballots in three "Rust Belt" states won by Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election. Could this process reveal evidence of election fraud or even hand the presidency to Hillary Clinton? That seems highly unlikely. But it hasn't prevented more than a bit of wild speculation, a Twitter tirade by the next White House incumbent and a flurry of lawsuits from both sides of the political divide. Here's everything you need to know about the presidential election drama that just doesn't want to…... [read more]

Image copyright Reuters Image caption Havana's Revolution Square will host a ceremony to remember Castro Cuba's most prominent dissident group has called off its traditional protest for the first time in 13 years following the death of the country's revolutionary leader Fidel Castro. The Ladies in White say the decision is to avoid tensions. The group, founded by wives of jailed dissidents, has long defied a protest ban in Cuba with a weekly march. Castro died on Friday at the age of 90. Flags are flying at half mast as the country observes nine days of mourning. From Monday, people…... [read more]